![](\"https:\/\/www.beirut.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/16771-2.png\")
<\/p> <\/p>
Imagine living in a country not defined by sectarianism or the words \u201cMuslim,\u201d \u201cChristian,\u201d and \u201cDruze.\u201d Imagine a country not defined by a 15-year civil war coupled or a deep-seated fear, sometimes hatred, for the \u201cother.\u201d Imagine a less divided Lebanon.<\/p>
This is why Joanna Choukeir, a PhD candidate at the University of Arts London, launched the Imagination Studio, an ongoing project designed to bring Lebanese youth from different backgrounds and regions together in an interactive, productive space. Choukeir\u2019s latest effort, which was co-created with student and activist volunteers, took place over the course of two days in the form of an \u201cImagination Market\u201d hosted in Jbeil and Baakline, respectively.<\/p>
There were five pop-up tents to address the five key social barriers which contribute to a sectarian and divided Lebanon: Gharam (Love), Moushwar (Trip), Khabriyeh (Story), Dardasheh (Chat), and Souhba (Friendship). Volunteer Aisha Habli put it simply: \u201cWe want to fix the social situation in Lebanon.\u201d She spoke about the project and its audience as being \u201cof the youth and for the youth.\u201d Her statement echoes Choukeir\u2019s determination to have youth come up with solutions \u201cfor themselves and with one another.\u201d <\/p>
![](\"https:\/\/www.beirut.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/16771.png\")
<\/p>
Yossef Chaker, a fellow \u201cImaginer\u201d says: \u201cWhat the studio promotes is what I\u2019ve lived.\u201d His mother is a Muslim and his father a Christian. As a result of this mixed upbringing, he says he\u2019s \u201clived the good experience in Lebanon.\u201d He, like Aisha, was introduced to Imagination Studio at TEDx Beirut. <\/p>
Back at the workshop, \u201cImaginers\u201d called out to passerby on the side of the main road in Baakline, a quiet town in the Chouf populated predominately by Druze. They managed to coax two young men out of their convertible over to the dardashe booth where they reluctantly sang The Beatles\u2019 \u201cImagine\u201d in Arabic, English, and French. They moved from booth to booth, reluctant, but laughing nonetheless. They visited moushwar where volunteers proposed taking them on a trip to an old Maronite Church that closed down years before – and which only two of the workshop\u2019s 50 participants knew existed. The day before, the trip was from Jbeil to a fish tavern owned by a woman named Maggie who opened up shop just after her husband passed away.<\/p>
The two young men also sat down for a short skit at the souhba booth, where actors had an argument over their political allegiances \u2013 Hizb Sushi and Hizb Hummus. In the post-performance discussion, which focused on brainstorming ways the argument could have been more civil, one of the participant\u2019s response was: \u201cWe already know all of this.\u201d <\/p>
![](\"https:\/\/www.beirut.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/16771-1.png\")
<\/p>
Choukeir says she does not feel pressure to change people\u2019s minds. On the subject of sectarian division in Lebanon, she has separated the public\u2019s general reaction into five categories: open-minded, curious, stubborn, distant, and skeptical. She believes that her efforts will have the most impact on the \u201ccurious\u201d and the \u201cskeptical,\u201d both of whom just need a little \u201cnudge\u201d to see a \u201cnew path.” <\/p>
\u201cWe had some \u2018distant\u2019 and \u2018stubborn\u2019 yesterday. The distant don\u2019t even want to acknowledge that there\u2019s a problem in Lebanon; they\u2019re living in their closed social circles and don\u2019t think anything is wrong with that. The stubborn realize that there\u2019s a whole other community in Lebanon that they don\u2019t know but they don\u2019t even want anything to do with it. [\u2026] But with the curious and skeptics, there is potential. Sometimes they just haven\u2019t had the exposure. Seeing something optimistic like this could trigger the change.\u201d <\/p>
Could this fascinating project evolve into something that makes a real and lasting impact on the youth and future generations in Lebanon? The Imagination Studio is certainly up for the challenge.<\/p>
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.beirut.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/16771-250x188.png\")
<\/figure> ![\"Participants](\"https:\/\/www.beirut.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/16771-1-250x188.png\")
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.beirut.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/16771-2-250x188.png\")
<\/figure> <\/figure> ","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"